2 Years In New York

You may have seen on my social channels that last weekend marked 2 years of life in New York. In honour of surviving 2 years I did a little (super long) Q&A on Snapchat (mainly about life in New York) and it seemed to go down a treat. A lot of people have said to me that it’s hard to find real/unsugar-coated information online about life in New York. I have to say I totally agree. Quite often most of the information you find online is romanticised, so the Snapchat Q&A was a way me to get real about New York life I guess.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love New York, I love living in New York and I love my life here, but (of course there’s a but) I think every New Yorker will agree with me when I say, there’s definitely easier places to live. It’s expensive here, it’s competitive and if you don’t have an American passport or a Green Card, it’s complicated, even more expensive, stressful and difficult to get your dream job, BUT it’s worth it…

This past weekend I was thinking back to this time last year. I was at home to get my H1B and when I came back on October 4th, I honestly didn’t think I’d make it to Christmas. I wasn’t enjoying my job at the time and as much as I love New York, being at home made me realise just how unhappy I was. To be totally honest, the thought of coming back to it actually made me physically ill.

Despite how things may have looked on social media (remember it’s not real life and I like to keep things more on the positive side), when the time came around for me to hop on the plane in Dublin airport, I just didn’t want to do it (tears may have been shed). It was the weirdest stream of emotions… I love living in New York and invested so much in trying to stay, and then there I was with my visa, that literally so many people would kill for and I just didn’t want to come back. I can’t even begin to describe the guilt I felt. I was one of the lucky few to get the H1B and I thought because I felt like this that I didn’t deserve it or something. It was crazy.

Anyway, to make a long story short… I came back to New York at the start of October and interviewed for my new job right away. A few days later I had a job offer and the rest as they say, is history. Imagine, in the space of a week I had gone from not wanting to get on a plane to having a new job that I love.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this. It’s one those posts where I started typing these are the words that just came out, but some of you guys were surprised that I didn’t find the whole process of moving here on a J1 visa, getting a set up and getting a job easy. But that’s the thing… It isn’t easy. Nothing in New York is easy.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, finds it easy! We all have our own little struggles and when you’re here on a visa, you may just have a few more. This is what I meant in my New York truths post when I said you have to do your time in New York. Remember New York doesn’t care who you are, it was here first. However, if you’re willing to pull up your socks and work (werk werk werk werk – couldn’t help myself), there really is no better place to be.

This post really is all over the place but there is one final point I want to make. I realised something a few weeks when I was chatting to my boss. A job should never be or completely overtake your life, but when it comes to being a legal alien in America, a job sure can change your life… And that’s exactly what happened for me.

On a lighter note before I go, how amazing is the blue and white porcelain jacket I’m wearing here? I’m obsessed. It’s a real show stopper and a piece I’ll be getting lots of wear out of now the temperatures have dropping in New York.

Anywho, let me know if you saw my Q&A and would like me to do more in the future.